The deserts of the southwest sprawl below me as the plane ascends from San Diego. It is such a very different landscape than the green mountains of my farm in West Virginia or my city streets in Philadelphia. It appears SO barren from my window in seat 4D.

It has been a good week. I now have a working manuscript for the entire book of Metrics That Matter. Writing this book has been like a black cloud hanging over my head. Working on it, and completing the writing while managing a start-up, has been tough. But, then I have never been one to shy away from a challenge.

I jeopardized the release date of the book by taking an extra three months to finish the Supply Chain Index work. The book is now 98,482 words and eight chapters. It is a fictitious story of a guy named Joe that does not want to be an average. He is trying to figure out the answer to these questions:

What defines supply chain excellence?

Who has done it best?

How has progress changed over time? What does it mean for the future?

Since supply chain can be a bit boring, I made it into a narrative. In the story, Joe and his leadership team work together to learn the answers to these questions through a series of strategy days.

Writing a book is a bit daunting. Definitely a labor of love, I have pored over digital pages on my laptop for many days. It is tough to write on airplanes. During the process, I have flown more than 120,000 miles. On the journey, I have lost five wireless mice, used over six reams of paper, and damaged three laptops. It is hard to write on the road, but I am now down to final editing. So, as my plane takes flight today, I breathe a bit better and walk a bit faster. A milestone is completed. It is time for reflections.

Reflections

Yesterday, in the middle of completing charts and graphs for Chapter 7 of the book, I facilitated a webinar for Kinaxis. The topic was on mentorship and sponsorship of women in the workplace. When the offer came across my desk, I did a Marmaduke moment. <Remember this cartoon character? He is one of my favorite. Marmaduke is a lovely Great Dane. When he heard something startling, he would always raise his ears and make a sharp sound.> This was me when I was asked.

Why, I thought, would Kinaxis be interested in doing a webinar on women in supply chain? In my opinion—it is a very biased opinion, I admit—the role of women in the workforce in supply chain has come sooooooooooo far during the time of my career. There was no line in the bathroom at the Kansas City CLM conference in 2001, but there will be at the CSCMP conference in San Antonio in 2013. In fact, it will probably be a long line.

Today, based on our studies, women compose about 43% of the supply chain workforce. I was on the cusp of the transition. I was a first generation female pioneer. When I went to engineering school at the University of Tennessee in 1974, there were two women in my class. I still remember the professor throwing down my Statics and Dynamics midterm test on my desk with a red "D" on the top and asking to see me after class (90% of the class had failed, and none of my male classmates were asked to stay). The follow-up conversation was not pretty. He basically told me that women did not have the ability to be engineers. This was a story that he did not recount when he quietly laid the final test with a red "A" on my desk at the end of the term.

The Webinar

At that time, my friends and I felt that we needed to deny our femininity to be accepted in the workforce. It was a hard battle fought with grit, determination and chagrin. The stories were poignant. It was before the days of sexual harassment policies, but not before sexual harassment. Being female in an all-male world was difficult. It would was not the world that fathers would wish for their daughters. Several of my friends ended up in therapy with an identity crisis.

Not me. I was just so busy fighting the fight that I forgot to enjoy the journey. Tough as nails and focused, I plunged ahead. There were many years that I just could not let myself feel anything. But yesterday, as I put my manuscript to the back of my desk at the Omni hotel in San Diego and took a break to facilitate this webcast with a panel of four wonderful women, I took time to enjoy the journey. I heard advice that I wish someone had shared with me on my journey:

Be Thankful for Feedback. Shellie Molina, now VP of Global Supply Chain at First Solar, told the story of learning how to receive feedback. She told the audience to ask for feedback often and thank the receiver. As a crusty gal that was fighting the hard fight to be accepted in a man's world, this would have helped me immensely. I needed so much feedback and fought the people who tried to give it. I give thanks to people who persevered. I am a better person for it, but I fought it all the way. Her advice, "It takes guts for colleagues to give you feedback. When it happen, thank them and ask for clarity. Use it as a time to build the relationship." Great advice. Don't make the mistake that I made.

Outperform and Then Ask for More. When asked how to get a sponsor, Laura Dionne, Director of Worldwide Operations at TriQuint, replied, "Outperform and then ask for more." She shared that this had helped her to get sponsorship from her managers. Laura also shared that she was promoted three times while taking pregnancy leave to give birth to her children. It made me reflect on how important sponsorship is and how it can shape others' lives. It made me think. As a result, I sent three Thank You notes over the weekend to my prior sponsors.

Don't Be Afraid to Be Female. Elisabeth Kaszas, Director of Supply Chain for Amgen, shared that women should not be afraid to be female in the workplace. This was advice that I sorely needed as an entry-level employee. I loved Elisabeth's perspective that women have a level of modesty and pride that helps the workforce, and that other women should encourage their women peers to speak at conferences, participate in programs, and stretch their aspirations.

Pull Up the Chair at the Table. In the practice session, the panel often talked of encouraging other women to pull up a chair to the table and participate. Verda Blythe from University of Wisconsin spoke of the building of soft skills in the academic setting to help both women and men embrace diversity.

All of the panelists shared that the world today is a very different place for women in supply chain. It is their belief that the opportunity is with filling senior roles; and in this regards, they were not sure that the supply chain roles are that different from other senior roles. The facts as the panel sees them: there just are not enough senior women sitting at the boardroom table. I agree.

Summary

So, as I look from my window, and look at the desert below, I smile. The workforce today, for female supply chain leaders, is no longer a barren, hostile landscape like the view stretching beneath me on my way back home. For that, I give thanks. Paving the way was hard. I am glad that I survived. However, I am thankful that other women will not have to face the hostility and unforgiving world that I persevered in. It was tough. I am glad that it is behind me.

Countdown to the Summit

If you are interested in the Supply Chain Index, and the research that we are doing on understanding supply chain excellence, and the Index methodology prior to the book being published, join us to hear the research insights on a series of webinars over the summer:

Our Global Summit is 95 days away, and we are busy preparing. Lots to do. There are about 60 seats left. We expect to sell out on this exclusive networking event for 230 supply chain leaders. Make sure that one of the remaining seats is yours!

In preparation, we are finishing up research on supply chain planning excellence, big data and supply chain, supply chain talent, and digital manufacturing. As always, we would love your insights on our research studies. When you give to us, we give back to you through open research. We share the research openly, but we never share your name or your individual responses. Working with us on surveys is a good way for you to get insights for your team. And, if you give us ten minutes of your time in filling out a survey, we will be glad to share the responses with you and your team on a one-hour call.

The open research studies that we are working on for the summit include: